The end is in sight!

So I have started a new quarter at Virgina College. My last quarter on campus, for my last three classes! 9 more weeks and I will be done with all my classes and ready to go out on externship in January. I will hopefully be going to the Navy Hospital for my externship. I will finish up in March and sit the certification exam! Finally after all my hard work the end is in sight! I am so close to my degree that I can taste it! Granted this is the toughest quarter so far and all three of the surgical procedures classes so I am having to buckle down hard, but it is so worth it. I feel so much relief knowing that I have almost accomplished the goal that I set while my little man was still in my belly. Not only am I doing this for me, but more importantly I am doing it for my son!

Navy Ball 2008

Friday October 10th 2008

As most of you know, there is a new guy in my life! His name is Christian and so far, so good! We wen't to the Navy ball on Friday night. Not only was it the Navy's birthday but it was also Christian's birthday. We had a great time...

Day Care Dilema

So it is coming to the point where my schedule with work and school is going to force me into placing Landon in day care. I have been so blessed thus far to have a great family support system so that he has always been in trusting hands! Starting next semester though, I will be having a 4 day/week school schedule plus my job. Way too much of a load to place on any one's shoulders! I am now beginning my search for a good day care. I don't want him to be at a place where they basically babysit all day, I would like him to be learning something. That is why I am hoping to find a place that has some sort of curriculum for small children. It will be good for Landon to be around other children his age, because he has yet to experience that. Although I am not looking forward to all the germs he will pick up from these other children! It is really going to be tough to leave him at a day care, but it has to be done. I am working and going to school in order to give him all the things that he needs/wants. This one of the many sacrifices we must make as parents I guess.

Long Days...

After yet another long day, I am exhausted! Working from 9-5 really shouldn't take this much out of a person! I guess the fact that my little man is teething and woke up 4 times during the night may have something to do with it. I miss him so much while I am at work. Sometimes it's really tough to concentrate on what I'm supposed to be doing because I am trying to imagine what he is doing at that exact moment! I wonder if that ever changes? Probably not! I can't wait until after I graduate; when I will only have to worry about one job instead of full time school and a job. Although it is going to be really hard for me to put Landon in day care... Trusting complete strangers with my precious angel! Well, it's past my bed time and I am pooped, so off to my bed I go!

My boy

My boy has to be the cutest thing on earth! There is nothing that I can delight more in than the sound of his little laugh. Or his pathetic little grunting noise he makes when he knows he is about to get some milk. :) I love how ticklish he is under his arms and on the small of his back. I love how when he gets really mad he makes this gurgling noise as he rolls his tongue. He is my heart, there is just no two ways about it!

Worries of the single Mom!

Okay, so while I wouldn't trade my experience's so far as a single Mom for anything... There have been times where it has been particularly challenging! One of the biggest things is the fact that I am a first time Mom. Everything is new when it comes to my little one. When he is unusually cranky in the middle of the night, feels warm and is pulling at his ear; there is no one else there to say "Hey, maybe we should take him to the ER". There is no one else here to ask questions at 3am! I have had a few nights where I have broken down and taking him to the emergency room, only for them to tell me that it must be teething because nothing appears to be medically wrong with him! Perhaps it will become easier when he is old enough to actually TELL me what is wrong... Until then I am just going to keep doing it the best way I know how! :)

Co-sleeping

I am a big supporter of co-sleeping with your baby. Especially if you are a single Mom, or a breastfeeding Mom. It honestly is a lot easier to get sleep if your little one is in the bed with you. I have heard a lot of people say things about rolling over and smothering the child, and honestly if you are a heavy sleeper then co-sleeping probably isn't a good option for you. However, I strongly believe that when that Motherly instinct kicks in, it never shuts off even when you're asleep. I could honestly hear Landon breathing in my dreams! If he even made a peep, I knew about it. I always felt more at ease because I knew he was right there next to me, I didn't have to get up ten times during the night to check and see if he was still breathing! Not to mention that it is ten times easier to roll over and feed the baby in the middle of the night before they wake all the way up and start screaming! :)

The best thing that I can say about co-sleeping is the bond that you have with your child. Particularly if you spend your days away from baby. It becomes your makeup snuggle time with them! I really cherish my memories of having baby Landon in the bed with me. I was worried that it would be really difficult to transition him to his own crib, but it really was no big deal. When he was eight months old, he just decided that he was ready. I laid him down in his own crib and he drifted off to sleep. Occasionally he will spend the night with me, if he is not feeling well or something, but for the most part he sleeps in his very own nursery.